Lennox Lewis Returns To The Ring To Defend Heavyweight Crown Against Kirk Johnson

25.04 – World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis returns to the ring Saturday June 21, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles to defend his crown against Kirk Johnson. It has been nearly one year since Lewis solidified his standing as boxing’s premier heavyweight by knocking out Mike Tyson in the eighth round of their showdown in Memphis. Now in his first defense since putting the stamp on his legacy, Lewis takes on an intriguing challenge from Johnson, the Nova Scotia native, who recently knocked out Lou Savarese and now has designs on springing an upset. The event, presented by Lion Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions in association with Prize Fight Promotions and STAPLES Center, will be distributed and telecast live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

Los Angeles last played host to a world heavyweight title fight 44 years ago when Floyd Patterson defended his world crown for the third time by scoring a 13th-round TKO over Roy Harris on Aug. 18, 1958, at the old Wrigley Field. The Lewis-Johnson world championship also represents the biggest heavyweight bout in the City of Angels since Muhammad Ali regained the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) championship in a rematch against Ken Norton on Sept. 10, 1973, at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

“Lennox Lewis is thrilled to be returning to the ring to defend his crown,” said promoter Gary Shaw. “Lennox wants to get back to business and continue to add to his legacy as one of the greatest heavyweight champions of the world.”

“Boxing fans have been looking forward to seeing World Heavyweight King Lennox Lewis return to the ring since his career-defining knockout of Mike Tyson," said HBO Sports Senior Vice President Mark Taffet. "And with his recent knockout win and boxing skills, Kirk Johnson is not a fighter to be taken lightly. As we have seen on numerous occasions, anything can and does happen in boxing."

Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs), of London, England, is 14-2-1 in world title fights. He regained the International Boxing Federation (IBF)/WBC/International Boxing Organization (IBO) heavyweight titles on Nov. 17, 2001, by flattening Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch in Las Vegas. The sensational knockout victory was sweet revenge for Lewis, who had been stopped in the fifth round by Rahman on April 22, 2001, in Brakpak, South Africa. Since defeating Mike Tyson on June 8, 2002, Lewis gave up the IBF belt.

A three-time WBC champion, Lewis won his initial 25 starts. He captured the WBC title the first time with a 12-round decision over Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993, in Las Vegas. Lewis made two successful defenses before Oliver McCall dethroned the champion with a shocking second-round TKO on Sept. 24, 1994, in London. Lewis regained the title by scoring a fifth-round TKO over McCall in their rematch on Feb. 7, 1997, in Las Vegas.

Lewis made four successful defenses before taking on then-WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on March 13, 1999, in New York. The majority of those watching felt Lewis had triumphed easily, but the bout ended in a controversial 12-round draw. Undeterred, Lewis rebounded to win a 12-round decision in the rematch the following Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. Lewis then successfully defended the titles three times before splitting the two fights against Rahman in 2001.

Johnson (34-1-1, 25 KOs), of North Preston, Nova Scotia, has won two consecutive bouts since suffering the first loss of his career at the hands of then-WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz on July 27, 2002. Johnson was disqualified in the 10th round after repeated low blows Overall, Johnson has won eight of his past nine decisions since fighting to a 10-round draw against Al “Ice” Cole on Dec. 8, 1998. The three-time Canadian national champion and 1989 World Junior Amateur Champion, who avenged the draw by outpointing Cole across 10 rounds on March 20, 1999, rebounded from the Ruiz bout to score a second-round knockout over Jeremy Bates on Dec. 7, 2002, in Las Vegas. In his last contest, Johnson registered a fourth-round TKO over Lou Savarese on Mar. 15, 2003, in Dallas.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 3, at noon at the STAPLES Center box office and through all TicketMaster locations.

The Lewis vs. Johnson pay-per-view telecast on June 21 is being produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 48 million pay-per-view homes. The Lewis vs. Johnson pay-per-view telecast begins at 9pm ET/6 pm PT. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry.